For Sale: Plum Island

The federal government will study the potential environmental impacts of selling Plum Island to a private owner for redevelopment or keeping the 840-acre island in federal hands after the research lab for highly infectious animal diseases is moved to Manhattan, Kan.

In a notice published Thursday in the Federal Register, the General Services Administration announced that it would undertake an Environmental Impact Statement to guide the anticipated sale of Plum Island and a 9.5-acre support facility in Orient Point, N.Y.

The island, located in Long Island Sound about 1.5 miles from Orient Point, has been the site of the high-security Plum Island Animal Disease Center since 1954. It is the only national lab for research into foot-and-mouth virus, which is highly contagious to livestock, as well as classical swine fever, vesicular stomatitis virus and foreign animal diseases. It was run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture until 2003, when it was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security.

Paula Santangelo, spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, said the labs at the facility are still operating at full capacity. The Homeland Security Department states on its Web site that the target date for the opening of the Kansas lab is 2014.

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I've visited the waters right off Plum Island plenty of times, it's an amazing spot … but really the government needs to do the right thing and quarantine the island for the foreseeable future. There are already various local rumors of the spread of diseases resulting from deer swimming from Plum Island to the North Fork of Long Island, most notably Lyme Disease.

Anthrax spores can survive for decades and we know that it has been studied on Plum. Interesting little tidbit:

The Silence of the Lambs (1989) mentions “Plum Island” as a potential supervised vacation site for Hannibal Lecter as a reward for helping to catch Jame Gumb. He derisively refers to it as “Anthrax Island”.

5by5

Boy, talk about places I'd NEVER want to buy.

http://www.montauk-monster.com/ Carl

It seems like the Montauk Monster may be the reason this is happening? Or the dead body that recently washed up.

Word Eater

I'd buy that for a dollar!

http://www.facebook.com/SabrebIade Kyle Taylor

That does seem perfect for a budding mad scientist or evil empire.
Maybe Sheldon Cooper would be interested!

http://www.facebook.com/SabrebIade Kyle Taylor

That does seem perfect for a budding mad scientist or evil empire. Maybe Sheldon Cooper would be interested!